As an anime director, filmmaker, visual creator, and art director, Koji Morimoto has continued to advance the evolution of anime culture both domestically in Japan and internationally.

In 1989, Morimoto handled the roles of Environments Designer and Second Chief Animator on Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira. That same year, Morimoto began his activities as a founding member of STUDIO4℃, a filmmaking collective focused on animation. In 1995, Morimoto’s striking music clip Extra (feat. Ken Ishii) quickly became the talk of industry, forging legions of enthusiastic fans around world.

Akira; 1988

Quote:

To overcome dimensional barriers, one must observe this world from different perspectives.

This is the constant source of his ideas, and describes Morimoto’s “Axis of the Void” – a concept of eliminating the extremities of existence to embrace new stimulating perceptions.

Whether through his depictions of majestic landscapes or elaborate cyberpunk alleyways, Morimoto’s own distinctive Sci-fi styled methodologies and expressions twist together the real world with alternate realities in unexpected and unparalleled ways. With his transcendental sense of aesthetics and insatiable curiosity, Morimoto consistently constructs worlds with never before seen blends of shapes and colors. Always mindful of the pursuit for originality, Morimoto goes beyond the traditional image of animation and paves the way to new visually compelling worlds using his unique approaches that often surpass anything anyone ever imagined. Morimoto’s talents continue to heavily influence and fascinate artists from around the world.

In 2011, after having been involved many years earlier in its founding, and having guided the company’s works with his creative direction from the beginning, Morimoto decided to leave Studio 4°C to embrace new challenges. Currently, Morimoto presides over a new creative team called Φphy. There he serves as Executive Art Director and is focusing not only on animation production, but also on many new ventures outside of the realm of anime. As a creative visionary, Morimoto actively participates in international art projects involving art direction and commercials for corporations, interior design, product design, and much more.